Fresh citrus is nature’s winter gift to cooks: It’s a foolproof way to brighten up the heartier cooking the season demands. Even light, bold-flavored fare can benefit from a fruity spritz. Joanne Chang, the celebrated pastry chef and owner of Boston’s renowned Flour Bakery + Café locations, finds that citrus—and grapefruit in particular—harmonizes especially well with Asian food at her Myers + Chang restaurant.

Grapefruit occupies the perfect middle ground between sweeter citrus, such as tangerines, and aggressively acidic fruit, like lemons.

“Our food has a lot of spicy, strong, and punchy flavors,” Chang says. “I think grapefruit goes well with a lot of things because it’s not an extreme flavor. I think it’s an underappreciated fruit, and it’s so adaptable because it’s so balanced.” Chang uses it in savory dishes, such as a tamarind-glazed hake with mint, jicama, and grapefruit salad, to add a burst of fresh sweet-tart juice to the mix.

Grapefruit also makes a great base for desserts that are light and refreshing, like the Grapefruit Granita featured here.

To complement the fluffy granita, Chang gently poaches pears in honey-and-vanilla-infused liquid, then tops the dish with pomegranate arils and mint. Our version honors that flavor combo with a simpler treatment that blends fresh pear and grapefruit into a pomegranate-studded relish.

Try Chang’s original dish this month at Myers + Chang in Boston’s South End.